Vatican

Pope Leo XIV brought joy to 64 orphaned and abandoned children on the evening of April 15 when he visited the Ngul Zamba orphanage in Cameroon, blessing the children and assuring them that despite their suffering, Jesus “cares especially for children like you.”

A religious sister in Cameroon who was kidnapped just a few months ago by separatists and held hostage for three days in the bush was among those who shared her testimony with Pope Leo XIV April 16 in an emotional peace meeting in Cameroon’s northwest city of Bamenda, a region marred by years of separatist violence.

Pope Leo XIV arrived in Cameroon on April 15, delivering a forceful appeal for peace to a nation scarred by years of separatist violence, telling the country’s leaders that “there is such a hunger and thirst for justice” as thousands lined the streets of the capital to welcome him.

The Joseph Ratzinger-Benedict XVI Vatican Foundation announced a series of initiatives across several continents that will take place throughout 2026 to mark the centenary of Pope Benedict XVI’s birth.

Separatist factions operating in Cameroon’s Anglophone regions announced a temporary cessation of hostilities ahead of Pope Leo XIV’s stop in Cameroon on the second leg of his papal visit to the African continent.

Pope Leo XIV sent a letter to the College of Cardinals thanking them for their participation in the January consistory and preparing the conversation for their next gathering June 26-27 — right before the solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul.

Iraqi Archbishop Amel Shamon Nona, who until now led the Chaldean Eparchy of St. Thomas the Apostle of Australia and New Zealand, was elected patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church, succeeding Cardinal Louis Sako.